Yet Another "Dremels are bad, mmmmkay" thread

[Undream]

Hello all..

yet another safety related thread here... I just wanted to share my experience today with a variable speed Dremel tool with other restorers.

As most people know, most of us spread the gospel that Dremels are dangerous little tools that in the hands of someone not paying attention, can do far more damage than good. That said, there are still times that I break out a Dremel for specific tasks. For instance, today, I had a razor that had a very beautiful etch. There were several active rust spots throughout the etch on areas that weren't really important to the etch. So, I decided that the best tool for the task of cleaning up these rust spots was to spot-polish the specific areas using a felt wheel with some fast cutting emery on a Dremel.

Now... If you must use a dremel for restoration, then, the clear choice (No...the ONLY choice..) is a variable speed one. I have NEVER...and I mean NEVER dialed up my Dremel past about 7,000-8,000 rpm (mine is a 5,000-35,000 rpm unit) for razor restoration.


So, as I was working today, Eye protection on, and blade secured to the table..things were going fine. I was about 40% thru the task..when all of the sudden.... WHHHHHHIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

My Dremel went NUTS. and I mean FULL MAX RPM NUTS. The jerk of the motor going from 5,000rpm to 35,000+ rpm kicked the dremel off the blade and into the air, and I damn near threw the thing it freaked me out so bad.

I quickly collected myself after unplugging the tool, and made sure I wasn't hurt, checked out the blade and it was allright.

So, WTF happened? did I bump the speed control?

Nope.

My Dremel malfunctioned. No matter where I put the variable speed switch, the little bast@rd is Full Max 35k RPM.

I contacted Dremel, and they are going to repair/replace it for me (I was surprised... 5 year warranty!)

This just goes to show you... you really, really need to stay on your toes when it comes to using a Dremel.

I was OK this time. But, I got lucky. I will keep this malfunction clear in my "could happen" thoughts from here on out while using a variable speed rotary tool, and so should you.

Thanks for listening and good luck with your restores!!!